Geometry of Growth, Issue #75

Hey there!

Happy Thursday; I hope you’re having an awesome week so far.

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but in < 24 hours I’ll be on a plane to Palm Springs for my first ever Coachella experience! 🎡 I’m very fortunate to be taking 10 brand leaders from FIGS, Liquid IV, Stanley, and more to enjoy the festival with FERMÀT. If you went to the festival on Saturday of Weekend 1, you have to tell me who is a must-see!

After Coachella, our team is locking back in to finalize all of the planning for our upcoming Cipher AI retreat. This might be one of the craziest events we’ve ever thrown - a 3-day, all expenses paid retreat in a stunning historic castle in NY.

Cipher AI is an exclusive gathering for top DTC founders, pioneering technologists, and AI-savvy brand leaders—designed to ignite bold ideas, drive real experimentation, and foster lasting connections. Keynotes, fireside chats, and masterclasses will be led by AI experts and brand execs who are truly transforming their industries. Outside of the programming, attendees will enjoy beautiful guest suites in the castle, cocktail parties in the castle gardens, award-winning chef-prepared meals, wellness sessions, and a variety of other curated experiences.

Needless to say…it’s gonna be really dang awesome.

You can check out more details on Cipher and request to attend here. 😊 

Okay, okay. Back to the meat and potatoes.

In this week’s newsie: Nunona’s smooth multi-variant PDP, Four Sigmatic’s tariff emergency response plan, protein chocolate with a silly name, Temu’s drop from the ad auction, and more.

Cheers,
Lex 💚

🏰 Introducing: Cipher AI

Conferences are awesome, but you know what’s even better? Deep, experiential learning…in a castle.

Cipher AI is an exclusive, all-expenses-paid retreat for the most innovative minds in ecommerce & AI.

Hosted by FERMÀT, Cipher AI is a private gathering of top DTC founders, pioneering technologists, and AI-savvy brand leaders—designed to ignite bold ideas, drive real experimentation, and foster lasting connections.

What to Expect:

🧠 High-Impact Learning: Masterclasses and roundtable workshops led by AI experts who are transforming their industries

🥂 Surreal Socials: Cocktails in castle gardens, a mystery puzzle welcome party, live music under glistening chandeliers, and luxury dessert pairings with hand-rolled cigars by firelight

🍽 Luxury Hospitality: All-inclusive, chef-prepared meals and curated experiences, from wellness mornings to evening whiskey tastings🛌 Unforgettable Setting: Private rooms and suites in the historic Oheka Castle—the grand estate that inspired The Great Gatsby

This isn't a conference. It's an ultra-curated experience for the builders and brand leaders shaping what’s next. Over three unforgettable days, we’ll explore the future of AI-driven commerce through hands-on workshops, thought-provoking masterclasses, and wildly imaginative social experiences.

🛒 Store of the Week

Nunona

I stumbled upon Nunona on ThingTesting this week, and for a brand founded just a few years ago, I was pretty impressed with their site.

Nunona is a U.S.-based maternal health & wellness brand. Their core product is Mama Bites, a “real food prenatal vitamin and postnatal lactation bite”. Essentially, they’re bringing pre & post-natal nutrition back to the basics - skipping the synthetic pills and powders - by offering a product made with organic, plant-based nutrition.

This isn’t a super high-tech store, but it’s a great browsing and purchase experience, which I think deserves to be celebrated, too.

Here’s what I love about Nunona’s site:

• Homepage/Hero → I really dig the simplicity & clarity of this hero. H1 is compelling, subheader is direct in explaining the value prop of the product. Imagery is very no-BS and to the point as well.

• Homepage/Real Nourishment When It Matters Most section → While I wish this section had a shoppable CTA, I do think it’s great context for the “why it matters” behind the product. The CTA drives to a great, highly digestible “science behind the product” style page. Also love the crisp close-up imagery of the product here that shows the real food in the bites.

• Homepage/How Nunona Compares → Great Us vs Them section here. No fluff, no overcomplicated language. Effectively highlights the product features and benefits.

• Homepage/Our Delicious Flavors → Again, the simplicity here is what does it for me. Awesome high-res images paired with no-nonsense ~5 word flavor descriptions.

• Homepage/Testimonials → Strong testimonials/reviews from an OB/GYN & doula here.

• Homepage/Navigation/Shop Mama Bites → Love the eye-catching graphic & CTA for bundle building. Also, VERY SMART to have a gifting collection for folks buying for new moms.

• Bites PDP/Buy Box → Really dig the layout of the PDP in general. Cool checkbox UI for choosing between a variety pack trial, monthly box, or one time purchase.

• Bites PDP/Add to Babylist → Great quick-add button here for folks to add Nunona to their baby registry

• Bites PDP/Flavor Selection → Easy to use UI. Shoppers can hover over & click on product cards to learn more about each flavor - this is great because it doesn’t clog up the UI and take away from the product imagery

Very much digging what Nunona has going on here. Great inspo for brands with build-your-own bundle/multivariant selectors on PDPs.

 🤰 Check out Nunona here.

🛍 Product of the Week

Hormbles Chormbles

I feel like everyone is talking about this, but… I couldn’t help myself.

Mostly because I am in sheer disbelief that we are now at the stage of protein snacks where we’re just making protein chocolate bars. 🤣

Despite what you may think upon hearing the phrase out loud, Hormbles Chormbles is not the name of a silly little cartoon man. It is actually the name of a brand that makes “power candy” — aka 100 calorie candy bars made with 10g of protein, and 0g of sugar.

I haven’t tried them myself yet, but I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t intrigued. If you’ve tried them, let me know. I’d love to hear what you think.

🍫 Try Hormbles Chormbles here.

📖 Content of the Week

Temu’s US Ad Spend Craters Amid Escalating Trade War with China

Talk about a dramatic exit! According to this Adweek report, Temu has essentially disappeared from US digital advertising… almost overnight.

The numbers are pretty shocking: from commanding 19% of Google Shopping ad impressions on March 31 to literally ZERO by April 12. Their TikTok-sponsored content has vanished, and their app ranking has plummeted from #1 to #11.

Ecommerce brands have been competing against Temu's seemingly unlimited ad budget for a long while now, so this creates a potential oportunity in the ad auction.

However, Adweek reports that most advertisers aren't rushing to fill the void. Fair to assume this is because of their own tariff-related expenses, or just in response to more conservative spending from consumers.

💸 Read more on Temu’s exit from the ad auction & arbitrage opportunities here. 

🎧 Listen of the Week

DTC Podcast Ep 499: Emergency Pod – How Four Sigmatic is Navigating Tariffs Without Losing Customers

I love super tactical podcast episodes, and this one is especially awesome given the recent tariff chaos.

In this episode of the DTC Podcast, Rick Cadotte (VP of Growth at Four Sigmatic) breaks down exactly how the brand is keeping prices stable despite rising costs, and shares which levers to pull before you even think about touching your prices.

I really enjoyed his insights on why adding those pesky tariff surcharges at checkout is a customer trust killer. Instead, he offers creative messaging approaches that can help build trust during these uncertain times.

This is a super practical, open-playbook episode from someone in the trenches. A great listen indeed.

👂️ Listen to Rick break down Four Sigmatic's tariff navigation strategy here.

🧰 Tool of the Week

Flair AI

Flair is a pretty neat AI tool. Essentially, it’s a virtual photography studio that lets you create gorgeous product imagery without ever booking an actual photoshoot.

It lets you fit clothing onto AI-generated models (yes - it’s trained to preserve your patterns and logos) so you can digitally stage entire scenes, adjust lighting, and compose professional-looking product shots without booking a single photographer or model.

If your team is dealing with creative production bottlenecks, this could be a super valuable solution. There’s also a real-time collaboration feature built in, which is great for remote teams with multiple creative stakeholders.

AI is getting so dang cool. I wish I had this stuff back when I was on the brand side. 😅 

PS: Credits to Kushank (@digitalsamaritan) on TikTok for this recommendation.

📸 Try out generative AI product shoots with Flair here.

🎉 Upcoming Events

👉️ PS: Want to secure your spot on the guest list for future FERMÀT events in your city? Add your name to the VIP guest list here.

Commerce Roundtable Miami

April 25 // Miami, FL

FERMÀT is proud to partner with the Commerce Roundtable team for this year’s Miami spring event! Join us for a day of awesome speakers, meals, and networking opportunities with fellow ecommerce visionaries. Speakers include senior leaders from BattleBox, BREZ, IQ Bar, GOAT Foods, AppLovin, and more.

Cipher AI Retreat

May 5-7 // Huntington, NY

Cipher AI is an all-expenses-paid retreat for the most innovative minds in ecommerce and AI, hosted by FERMÀT at the legendary Oheka Castle. Over the course of three unforgettable days, a select group of top DTC founders, pioneering technologists, and AI-driven brand leaders will gather to ignite bold ideas, explore real experimentation, and build lasting connections. From masterclasses and roundtable workshops led by industry-shaping experts to surreal socials like mystery puzzle parties and live music under chandeliers, every moment is designed to inspire. Guests will enjoy chef-prepared meals, curated wellness and whiskey experiences, and private luxury accommodations in the estate that inspired The Great Gatsby. This is not a conference—it’s a curated experience for those bold enough to lead what comes next.
Attendance is extremely limited. Request your invitation at the link below.